Lynx ride 7 falls, 22 bonus points to dual win over Bulldogs

WCHS wins final 6 matches, 5 by pin, for 33-0 run

November 30, 2012

HAMPTON - It stayed nearly right on script here last night, as the Webster City wrestling team rolled up big points at the expected weights to cruise to its first dual victory of the season.

The Lynx trailed 24-19 after eight weights, but they knew they had several heavy hitters waiting in the wings and they rattled off the final 33 points - courtesy of six straight victories, including five by fall - to rout North Central Conference rival Hampton-Dumont, 52-24.

"It was good for us to wrestle an opponent instead of ourselves in practice to see where we stand, and I was real happy with our intensity and I thought our focus was dead on," WCHS head coach Ted Larson said. "Our gas tanks were pretty good, but we need to keep all of this in perspective because Hampton has got a young team. We're not where we need to be yet, but it was a good start."

Tanner Hoveland ignited the final Lynx surge with a second-period fall over Trevor Grefe at 132 pounds. It was one of seven pins racked up by the Lynx, who finished with 22 bonus points to the Bulldogs' 12.

Tanner Hild (138), Jake Powers (145), Alex Oswald (152) and eighth-ranked Connor Larson (170) padded the lead with falls of their own late in the dual.

Brandon Patten (160) was able to scrape his way out of a brawl with Grant Lehmann to prevail, 3-2.

"That was a good match for Brandon because that was a tough kid," Ted Larson said. "Tanner Hoveland had a really good match, too, and Jake Powers did well. He's so quick and he stayed in position throughout his match."

The dual began with the feature attraction, as Hampton-Dumont's 10th-ranked (2A) 170-pounder Josh Bauer bumped up to 182 to tangle with Lynx junior and second-ranked (3A) Dylan Fielder. After a tight first period, Fielder began to impose his will and he eventually wore down Bauer en route to an 11-3 major decision victory.

"Starting at 182 was good for us and that was a big match for Dylan," Ted Larson said. "It was close early, but you could tell Dylan just out horse-powered him and then he opened the match up."

Gus Gasca (195) followed Fielder's win up with a fall to extend the Lynx early cushion to 10-0.

Two matches later senior heavyweight Landon Johnson controlled the Bulldogs' Mario Pena throughout for a 7-2 decision.

Sophomore 113-pounder Freddie Seely also notched one of the Lynx falls. WCHS ended all seven in either the first or second period, with three - by Hild, Oswald and Connor Larson - coming in under a minute.

The Lynx will take part in their first tournament on Saturday at the Dallas Center-Grimes Invitational. The defending tournament champion, WCHS will begin wrestling at 10:30 a.m.